In a recent exchange of barbs, former President Donald Trump took to social media on Wednesday morning to retaliate against late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel’s Tuesday night monologue, which was laced with humor at Trump’s expense. However, Trump’s counterattack was marred by inaccuracies.
Trump, in his social media post, derided Kimmel as “stupid” and criticized his overall performance as the host of the Academy Awards in March. He specifically targeted Kimmel for reading aloud a mid-show social media post by Trump, in which the former President critiqued Kimmel’s hosting skills.
Trump further alleged that Kimmel had read out his post “right before he stumbled through announcing the biggest award of all, ‘Picture of the Year.'” He added, “It was a CLASSIC CHOKE, one of the biggest ever in show business, and to top it off, he forgot to say the famous and mandatory line, ‘AND THE WINNER IS.’ Instead he stammered around as he opened the envelope.”
Facts First: Trump’s claim is incorrect. The unusual and abrupt announcement of the Best Picture award, won by “Oppenheimer,” was not made by Kimmel but by legendary actor Al Pacino, whom Kimmel had introduced. Furthermore, the standard phrase used in the Oscars announcement is “and the Oscar goes to,” not “and the winner is,” as Trump suggested. The latter phrase was used prior to 1989.
The presidential campaigns of Trump and current President Joe Biden have been trading jabs over each other’s verbal gaffes. Following Trump’s latest misstep, the Biden campaign took to social media to mock the former President. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.